


illuminate fate

by easycomeeasygo



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Kimetsu no Yaiba Setting, Canon-Typical Violence, Friends to Lovers, Kun has Tanjiro's heightened sense of smell, M/M, Mutual Pining, Sicheng and Kun are demon slayers, Sicheng has Zenitsu's heightened sense of hearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:46:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27293653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/easycomeeasygo/pseuds/easycomeeasygo
Summary: Kun finds Sicheng in the garden after he finishes up with Taeyong. He's sitting on a bench feeding the fish in the pond. He takes a seat next to him, the two of them settling into each other's company easily.“Sichengie, would you like to go kill a demon with me?” Kun finally asks.
Relationships: Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Qian Kun
Comments: 10
Kudos: 42
Collections: NCT Spookfest 2020





	illuminate fate

**Author's Note:**

> you ever go beserk listening to the n.flying cover of gurenge every 20 minutes for weeks straight? this is what came out of it lmfao i haven't written nct fic in so long yikes!
> 
> anyway u don't rly need to know anything about kimetsu no yaiba i kind of glaze over a lot but all you need to know is that they hunt demons as part of an organization and Kun and Sicheng are two of the most powerful swordsmen within it 
> 
> happy halloween x

“There’s a demon that’s intent on killing anyone who’s out alone at night in one of the bigger towns,” Taeyong tells Kun one morning. “You can do it alone,” he says, before cracking a small smile, “Or you can take Sicheng with you.”

Kun sighs. “Tell me more?”

“It’s not too far from here but none of the children are close enough to do it, otherwise I’d pass it onto them. I really would have loved this for Dejun, Kunhang, and Yangyang but beggars can’t be choosers, I suppose.”

Kun snorts. “What’s more romantic than killing a demon together.”

“It works for me and Doyoung. Tell me why it wouldn’t work for you and Sicheng as well, Kun.”

“It just seems like it’s not the brightest move for me,” Kun finally says after thinking about how to respond best. It’s such a risk, to put yourself out there. He doesn’t understand how Taeyong and Doyoung make it work, balancing the responsibility of being Hashira and being in a relationship. It just seems like signing up for heartbreak, knowing the very high chances of dying. Not many people get to retire to a little house in the mountains like he dreams of. Kun knows he wouldn’t be able to handle it if he got to have Sicheng the way he wants and lost him. It’s a heavy burden that Kun is sure he wouldn’t be able to bear.

Taeyong’s usually soft demeanor hardens. “Stop getting in the way of your own happiness, Qian Kun. Just because we could die at any moment doesn’t mean you shouldn’t at least try to be happy. I know I might lose Doyoung at any moment, but that doesn’t mean that being with him isn’t worth it, _it is_. He keeps me going, Kun. When I think I can’t fight anymore I know I have him waiting for me and it makes a difference. So, go slice up this demon and tell Sicheng. Those are my orders for you.”

“You can’t order me to tell him,” Kun whines.

“You’re right, I can’t do that,” Taeyong pouts, “but _I’m_ right and you should.”

“Taeyong-”

Taeyong smiles warmly, his eyes wide. “I am. Kun, I’m telling you this as your friend, stop being an idiot. Stop making your life, and _Sicheng’s_ ,” he emphasizes, “harder than it needs to be. You shouldn’t underestimate what you’re capable of handling.”

That’s what gets Kun’s attention, finally getting through his thick skull the idea that he’s not only inconveniencing himself but also Sicheng because he’s scared. He dwells on it as he leaves Taeyong’s quarters, looking for Sicheng.

It suddenly feels selfish when he realizes that his decisions about Sicheng actually affect Sicheng too. maybe Taeyong has a point. maybe he does deserve to have happiness with Sicheng, even if there's no guarantee that it will last. Kun is intelligent, he knows this, but he’s extremely alarmed to find out just how _dumb_ he really is.

"I'll think about it," Kun replies, "Tell me the rest of the details and I'll go ask him."

"You're stronger than you think you are. And you both are going to end up retiring soon anyway."

Kun finds Sicheng in the garden after he finishes up with Taeyong. He's sitting on a bench feeding the fish in the pond. He takes a seat next to him, the two of them settling into each other's company easily.

“Sichengie, would you like to go kill a demon with me?” Kun finally asks. “Taeyong said you can come with me if you want.”

Sicheng cracks a small smile. “How far are we going?”

Kun can't help but smile back. “Not too far. Two, maybe three days away? Shouldn’t take longer than a week. The town is having trouble with people disappearing at night. All the intel Taeyong has gotten has pointed to a low-level demon, probably working alone. He wanted it for the children but they’re still too far away.”

“Which children?”

“Yangyang, Dejun, and Kunhang,” Kun replies as if it’s obvious.

“And when are we leaving?”

“Tomorrow morning?”

Sicheng nods, “I’ll get Renjun to feed my fish. I think he’s grounded for another week anyway so he can recover. Broken ribs.”

“Taeyong mentioned his and Jeno’s mission was a bit rough,” Kun says. “And they're not _your_ fish.”

“Just you wait, Kun-ge,” Sicheng says lightly, “I’m gonna retire and all I’ll have left of this life are my precious swords and these fish that I’ll have kidnapped. They’ll be my fish.”

Kun’s chest constricts at Sicheng speaking so flippantly about retiring. He gets it, they have been doing this for _years_ , to the point where retirement from the demon slayer corps is actually becoming a feasible concept, but still. It makes Kun want and want. It makes Kun mentally add a little pond in the back of his little home on a quiet mountain- if he gets there.

“You’ll need a pond,” Kun says.

“Yes,” he replies, “I will.”

Kun takes a breath, trying to ignore the way his heart is beating out of his chest. “I’ll give you a pond,” he says quietly, “If you want.”

Sicheng doesn't say anything at first, but all Kun gets from him is fondness, making him look up. Sicheng is still feeding the fish but there's a smile on his face that matches his emotions. “Looking forward to it.”

-

They reach the town quicker than Kun expected, rolling in with a storm that seems to have followed them one and half days later, as the sun approaches the horizon. They immediately head to an inn. Kun is relieved they’re staying in a town big enough to have one, instead of having to set up a makeshift camp just outside of the town.

They get lucky. They find the demon right away. There’s a little girl who should not be out this late and alone but she seems to be confused and in a daze. Kun realizes this must be part of what the demon does. Sicheng stands up first.

“Kun-ge, grab the child and get her out,” he calls out, drawing his swords and preparing to chase down the demon before she can vanish. He looks back quickly. When Kun nods, he takes off and Kun turns his attention to the little girl. He scoops her up and carries her to a nearby house.

“Stay out of sight, little one,” Kun says soothingly. He bends down to eye level with her and holds her small hands in his, “You're okay now and you can go home to your family.”

She finally seems to have snapped out of whatever trance the demon had her under, finally lucid, to Kun’s relief. Her eyes are welling up with tears but she nods.

“I have to go help him, alright? Which way is your home?” When she points away from where Sicheng went Kun breathes a sigh of relief. “Good, once I leave I want you to take a big breath and be brave and run as fast as you can home. Can you do that for me, little one?”

She pulls her hands from Kun’s and wipes her tears away. “Yes,” she says meekly.

“Good,” Kun smiles and gets up, turning towards where Sicheng went, unsheathes his steel blue nichirin blade, and takes a deep breath.

When he turns back the girl is looking at him with wide eyes, mesmerized. “Get ready to run, and run _fast_.”

Kun runs.

He runs through the narrow alleyway, sniffing for signs of the demon when he focuses on the floral scent of Sicheng’s attacks and follows it into a courtyard.

Sicheng fights like he’s dancing. It’s mesmerizing watching him slice through the air with his nichirin blades, moving so gracefully you wouldn’t realize just how lethal he is. It’s beautiful watching his dark gaze focusing on his target and hunting it down.

“I can’t wait to kill a Hashira,” the demon screeches. It makes Kun want to roll his eyes, how many times he’s heard this declaration from higher-level demons than this one, but he doesn’t lower his guard. He never does.

Kun wishes he could watch Sicheng fight but he launches at the demon who has found a small opening that Sicheng had left as he turned through the air trying to slash at her neck. It’s not that Kun doesn’t trust him to be able to defend himself, he knows that Sicheng can easily cover up that vulnerability, but he smells blood mixed with Sicheng’s light floral scent in the air and he realizes Sicheng must have taken a hit at some point and he’s moving slightly slower than usual. Kun would rather fucking die than watch something happen to Sicheng if he can do something about it.

He cuts through the air, creating a circle of water around himself as he slashes through the demon before she can reach Sicheng.

Sicheng turns and orients himself towards the demon and launches into one of his attacks, gracefully attacking her with a flurry of multiple attacks, cutting the air with wisps of petals surrounding him.

Kun figures out exactly where she’ll be when Sicheng’s last attack hits and focuses his breathing, looking for his opening and the string that he can cut and cut the demon’s head off as well. The second he sees it, Kun launches himself into the air and onto the roof. He counts the milliseconds until he dives down, his nichirin blade out and his power concentrated into the blade and Sicheng turns the demon to the side and he slices down.

Kun lands gracefully on his feet, the demon’s head next to him and Sicheng across from him, breathing heavily.

“Sicheng?” Kun asks, suddenly worried.

Sicheng moves towards the building and collapses against it, Kun rushing forward to catch him.

“Shoulder,” Sicheng says, wincing, “Demon managed to slash me. Hurts, Kun-ge.”

“Shit,” Kun says, “What do you need me to do?”

Sicheng sticks his hand out, “Hold my hand and ground me while I breathe and heal up. It’s not deep, just in an irritating spot.”

Kun isn’t sure how long he sits there with Sicheng’s hand in his while Sicheng settles into a meditative state, watching his wound begin to heal as he’s overcome with relief as the smell of blood dissipates.

“Your heart is racing,” Sicheng murmurs.

“Can’t I be worried about you?” Kun retorts. “Of course my heart is racing.”

“I’m fine, Kun, it wasn’t that bad of a hit, you know that. Why is your heart racing so much?”

“How’d she even land a hit on you?” Kun asks tersely, avoiding answering Sicheng’s question.

Sicheng hesitates before deciding not to reply to him. He stands up and sheathes and pulls Kun up by their still intertwined hands before letting go.

“Later. Let’s go back to the inn.”

“What do you mean later,” Kun asks, following down the empty street back where they came from, “Sicheng.”

“ _Later,_ Kun,” he insists. “Let’s go back to the inn and we can talk then.”

They head back to the inn, relieved the innkeeper isn’t awake and won’t see their torn clothing, especially Sicheng’s bloodstained clothing.

Immediately they both strip down, everything is soaked but their undergarments. Kun lays it all out to dry while he takes care of Sicheng. He goes through his bag of supplies looking for his healing balm to spread on his wound and he watches it heal as Sicheng meditates.

Kun almost forgets about Sicheng’s insistence they would talk later until the two of them are laying on a mat together with almost no space between them.

“Kun, why won’t you let yourself be with me,” Sicheng says quietly. “Doyoung and Taeyong manage. Others have managed. I know you want it. I hear how your heartbeat races around me. And I know you can smell my emotions too, Kun. I know you know how I feel about you. Neither one of us can hide anything from each other. We may not be open books,” he says carefully, “but we are for each other.”

Kun has been in love with Sicheng for nearly half of his life, since the moment he saw him and especially since he saw him draw his nichirin blades for the first time. He's gone on countless missions with him, he's spent more time with him than anyone else he's ever known. Sicheng has been the most important person in his life, the only person who knows every bit of him. It's never been a question of whether or not Sicheng would ever feel the same, he knows he does, that he has for just as long. He has just kept it in the back of his mind. It's never been urgent. It was always killing demons, mastering water breathing, training to become the Water Pillar, finding a Tsuguko to train, training Jeno, killing more demons. Anytime he's tried to even consider the possibility of pursuing something with Sicheng, it's immediately brushed aside because they're both walking a tightrope and could die at any moment.

“If I lose you, it’ll _kill_ me, Sicheng,” Kun confesses. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to balance it all, I don’t know how they do it.”

“We could die at any moment, Kun. What’s there to lose?”

It was easy to ignore when Taeyong said it to him, but now that it’s Sicheng saying it to him, it’s much harder.

Sicheng is right. Kun has known this all along and he's known that being scared isn't as good of an excuse to ignore all of this as he hoped it would be. Being scared is being weak, he's learned this over the years when it comes to demon-slaying and it's about time he learns it with his emotions and relationships. He needs to stop being scared so Kun finally slips his hand into Sicheng’s. The sensory overload is nearly overwhelming. The air is filled with emotions and he can imagine that the thrum of his heartbeat must be overwhelmingly loud for Sicheng.

He wants to tell Sicheng he loves him but the words seem trapped. He knows he doesn't have to though, Sicheng knows how he feels, he's always known. Instead, he lets go of Sicheng's hand, puts his arm around him, and pulls him into his chest. "We're going to retire together. Jeno and Renjun are almost ready to replace us. We can have a house in the mountains and it'll have a pond big enough for the fish you'll steal and any other fish you want."

"I'll need a garden for my flowers too," Sicheng replies, "I'll grow the herbs for your tea as well."

Kun beams brightly as the clouds move in and the scent of ozone takes over. They lay together for what feels like ages as the sound of raindrops begins to hit the roof.

“How’d she manage to stab you?” Kun suddenly remembers to ask, “You didn’t say.”

Sicheng is overcome with embarrassment before he begins to giggle and replies, “I slipped.”

“You’re lying,” Kun says. “You didn’t.”

Sicheng turns into Kun’s side. “I did, I slipped. The ground was wet from the rain and I wanted to catch up to her. I slipped and let my guard down and it gave her enough time to turn around and stab me before I could regain my footing.”

“You slipped,” Kun repeats, still incredulous.

Sicheng’s mouth begins to trace the scars on his chest and Kun is overcome with the affection he’s giving him. “I did.”

-

Kun’s back hurts when he wakes up in the morning.

It’s an expected ache, one that comes with age, even if he’s not that old. He’s experienced enough lifetimes in this body. The faded scars on his body look like a distant memory but ache like it just happened each morning until he stretches until he’s limber and relaxed. His hair has grown a lot, long enough to tie up, one of the reminders that time has actually passed.

When he goes into the kitchen, there’s a cup out and the kettle still feels warm. He smiles to himself and heads outside to the garden. Sicheng is meditating next to the pond.

“We should head down into the town soon,” Kun murmurs. “Maybe tomorrow? We need more vegetables.”

“You want more tea from the man in town, don’t you?” Sicheng says, his eyes still closed and his heartbeat steady.

“Your pupil is coming too, we need to be stocked up for him.”

Sicheng opens one eye, “Renjun can fend for himself. And isn’t Jeno coming too?”

“Yeah but Jeno’s an angel,” Kun retorts. “Taeyong said they’ll probably only stop by for a day or two. They need rest apparently.”

Sicheng opens his other eye and looks at Kun with an eyebrow raised before sighing. “You’re right. Give me a kiss and we can make a list. We have leftover balms right, I’m sure whatever we have left should be okay to take care of them if we need to.”

Kun pulls Sicheng up into his arms, leaning up into him, and gives him a quick peck. “I promise Jeno probably has a gash somewhere and Renjun is hiding broken ribs. Again. We have more than enough medicine, we just need normal things, like food.”

“Thank you,” Sicheng says, smiling fondly, “God I’m so glad the most we have to worry about is Renjun and Jeno destroying our home.”

"Me too," Kun replies. "I like our little life." He can’t help but kiss Sicheng again. It still feels surreal to have everything he's wanted. Both of their bodies are wrecked from the years of demon-slaying. Kun aches and aches and Sicheng's vision isn't what it used to be but they're both still alive and together in their little house with their garden and pond and a cat that stops by every day begging for food that Sicheng desperately wants to keep. 

Sicheng smiles and it's Kun's favorite sight. "I like it too." 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! kudos and any comments are appreciated 💕 
> 
> [talk to me about wayv or ur favorite kny character <3](http://www.twitter.com/fleur_cannon) | [ cc ](https://curiouscat.me/yangyangsdemonparent)


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